Closing summary
Keir Starmer has said that he wants a “serious and pragmatic” relationship with China while “being clear about the issues that we do not agree on”. Speaking to broadcasters after his meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Monday, the prime minister said: “I’ve been clear that I want a serious and pragmatic relationship with China. It’s the second biggest economy in the world, it’s one of our biggest trading partners, and therefore we have issues that we clearly need to discuss.”
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has heaped praise on Keir Starmer’s economic policy, as the UK prime minister used their first meeting to raise concerns about sanctions on MPs and the treatment of the pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai. In conversation at the G20 summit in Rio, the first meeting between the UK and China’s leaders in six years, Starmer said he would be keen to host a full bilateral meeting with Xi and the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, in Beijing or London as soon as possible, aimed at turning the page on frosty UK-China relations.
Meanwhile, Starmer has said there is “lots to discuss in our mutual interests as we go forward” as he met Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese at the G20. At the top of a bilateral meeting with the Australian premier, Albanese said that Australia and the UK “are “great friends, on security, on climate policy on our engagement.”
National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw said planned demonstrations are “definitely going ahead” after he met with Environment Secretary Steve Reed in parliament on Monday evening, PA Media reported. Speaking outside parliament, Mr Bradshaw told the PA news agency: “The planned demonstrations are definitely going ahead. It was a valuable meeting. It was a great opportunity to really spell out in black and white why their evidence is wrong, why it has to come forwards in consultation, and what the extreme human pressure is that this policy has created.
Starmer has said that he understands changes to inheritance tax are “causing concern” for farmers but insisted “the vast majority of farms” will not be affected. Speaking to broadcasters at the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday, the prime minister said he is supporting farmers with money at the budget “alongside money to do with flooding and to do with the outbreak of disease.”
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has said she is likely to vote against the bill to legalise assisted dying, as Keir Starmer issued a veiled warning to cabinet ministers, such as Wes Streeting, to stay neutral on the issue. Starmer, speaking to reporters en route to the G20 summit in Brazil, confirmed for the first time that he would vote on the assisted dying bill later this month, but indicated he would not reveal his position in advance.
Tax rises in the budget have sapped consumer confidence and will lead to sharp reductions in private sector pay growth next year, two separate reports have said. In a blow to Rachel Reeves’s efforts to boost growth, a survey by S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that consumer confidence dropped this month after households said the outlook for the economy had deteriorated and the prospects for their own finances had worsened.
More than one in three children and a quarter of adults are living in poverty in the UK as deprivation levels rise to the highest in the 21st century, according to a landmark report. The study by the Social Metrics Commission (SMC), which uses measures recently adopted by the UK government, found the cost of living crisis had plunged 2 million more people into severe hardship since 2019.
That’s all from me, Tom Ambrose, and the UK politics live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Planned demonstrations 'definitely going ahead', says NFU president
National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw said planned demonstrations are “definitely going ahead” after he met with Environment Secretary Steve Reed in parliament on Monday evening, PA Media reported.
Speaking outside parliament, Mr Bradshaw told the PA news agency: “The planned demonstrations are definitely going ahead.
“It was a valuable meeting. It was a great opportunity to really spell out in black and white why their evidence is wrong, why it has to come forwards in consultation, and what the extreme human pressure is that this policy has created.
“We have to have these conversations, but we’re really concerned that at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any action. There doesn’t seem to be any understanding from the Treasury of what they’re doing.”
Bradshaw said he was “debating the data” with the environment secretary during their meeting.
He added: “The whole focus was on this abhorrent policy that’s been put in place. We think it’s a very ill considered policy. I don’t believe that they intended the human consequences that there are within the policy they’ve put forwards.
“I don’t think they understand that family farms that are producing this country’s food are right in the eye of this storm.”
Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon said raising the bus fare cap to £3 was “not an inevitability”.
He said: “The government seems at a loss as to why its policies are so unpopular and why, only a few months into this government, they are so deeply distrusted by the British public. Governing is tough and it requires taking real responsibility and considering the consequences of the decisions before you take them.
“For example, the decision to increase the bus fare cap from £2 to £3. This will cost users more and perversely, will put at risk passenger services on certain routes, because it could counterproductively drive bus ridership down.”
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has said there is “lots to discuss in our mutual interests as we go forward” as he met Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese at the G20.
At the top of a bilateral meeting with the Australian premier, Albanese said that Australia and the UK “are “great friends, on security, on climate policy on our engagement.”
Starmer replied by saying “we can double down on that”.
Reform to bus services that will allow local authorities to adopt franchising models is “the biggest shake up of the sector for 40 years”, transport secretary Louise Haigh has said.
She told MPs: “We have called time on the way bus funding has historically been allocated. Previously, the government made councils compete for funding, wasting resources and delaying decisions. It was overly complicated, led to inconsistent funding and created uncertainty for authorities and operators.
“We are taking a fundamentally different approach. We have allocated funding based on local need, population, the distance buses travel and levels of deprivation. This puts fairness at the heart of future funding, and ends the postcode Lottery on bus services. It ensures taxpayer money goes to the areas in most need, where it will have the most impact and where passengers will most benefit.
“This is the first stop on our journey to support local areas to take back control of services and deliver better buses across the country. Finally, we will introduce our landmark buses bill in the coming weeks. It is the biggest shake up of the sector for 40 years.
“It will allow councils across the country to adopt franchising models, as in Greater Manchester and London. That means local leaders taking back control of services, ensuring routes, fares and timetables are all geared towards local passenger needs.”
Keir Starmer has said that he understands changes to inheritance tax are “causing concern” for farmers but insisted “the vast majority of farms” will not be affected.
Speaking to broadcasters at the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday, the prime minister said he is supporting farmers with money at the budget “alongside money to do with flooding and to do with the outbreak of disease.”
He went on: “On the question inheritance tax, look I do understand that it’s causing concern.
“But if you take a typical case of a couple wanting to pass a family farm down to one of their children, which would be a very typical example, with all of the thresholds in place, that’s £3m before any inheritance tax is paid.
“And that’s why I’m confident that the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected at all by that aspect of the budget.
“They will be affected by the £5bn that we’re putting into farming, and I’m very happy to work with farmers on that.”
Keir Starmer says he wants relationship with China while 'being clear about issues we do not agree on'
Keir Starmer has said that he wants a “serious and pragmatic” relationship with China while “being clear about the issues that we do not agree on”.
Speaking to broadcasters after his meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Monday, the prime minister said: “I’ve been clear that I want a serious and pragmatic relationship with China.
“It’s the second biggest economy in the world, it’s one of our biggest trading partners, and therefore we have issues that we clearly need to discuss.
“Whilst, of course, being clear about the issues that we do not agree on.
“But I will always act in the national interest, and that was the basis upon which we had our discussions this morning.”
Updated
County councils strongly welcome government's plans to curb costs of private child social care homes
The County Councils Network, which represents England’s largest care authorities, has strongly welcomed Bridget Phillipson’s plans to overhaul children’s social care. (See 4.34pm.) In a statement Roger Gough, the Conservative leader of Kent county council and the CCN’s spokesperson for children’s services, said:
The CCN strongly welcomes the government’s intention to reform children’s social care. Over a number of years our organisation has highlighted the need for the system to address market dysfunction, rebalance the system towards early help rather than late intervention, and – most importantly – improve the experiences and outcomes of the country’s most vulnerable children and families in contact with the care system.
The government’s intention to intervene more proactively in the children’s social care placement market is particularly important. Our recent analysis showed that, unchecked, councils could be spending £12bn a year on children in care by 2030, with local authorities having to operate in a false economy of increasingly paying astronomical sums for placements and less on preventative services. Whilst it is recognised the private sector is an important partner in delivering these goals, the clear signal that excess profiteering at the expense of threadbare local authority budgets will not be tolerated is necessary and long overdue.
That is all from me for today. Tom Ambrose is now taking over.
Transport secretary Louise Haigh tells MPs some areas getting record investment in buses under DfT plans
Louise Haigh, the transport secretary, is making a statement to MPs about funding for bus services. She says the Department for Transport is today explaining how the £1bn for buses announced in the budget is being allocated in England. She goes on:
Today, we distributing that funding. That means over £700m pounds for local councils to deliver bus service improvement plans and better meet local needs, and a further £243m pounds to bus operators, including funding a longstanding grant to drive down fares and drive up services.
In many places, this is record investment and every region, every authority in England will benefit, especially those areas historically underserved, like rural areas and small towns.
Councils such as Leicester, the Isle of Wight, Torbay and Cambridgeshire will see unprecedented levels of funding for services.
At risk routes will be saved and passengers will see faster, more reliable journeys.
We’re also putting money into safer bus stops and more accessible passenger information, so our bus sector is fit for everyone.
And I’m delighted that metro mayors have welcomed this announcement, with city regions such as Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Liverpool, receiving some of the biggest allocations.
Full details of the spending allocations are here.
Phillipson gives MPs details of 'biggest reform of children's social care in generation'
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has been making a statement to MPs about what she described as the biggest overhaul of children’s social care in England for a generation. She said:
Children’s social care is struggling under an impossible weight. We have more children in care in this country than ever before, and with more and more money following children into the most expensive part of the system, resources are sucked out of preventative services, pushing yet more young people into care, and so the vicious cycle continues – higher costs, poorer outcomes. A cycle that [Labour MP Josh MacAlister] rightly identified in his review over two years ago, a broken market for care, vulnerable to the shameful profiteering of too many private companies.
I am pleased to announce the publication of a policy statement that puts children’s social care back in the service of children and families, breaking the cycle of crisis intervention. This is the biggest reform of children’s social care in a generation, and it starts with the acknowledgment that wherever possible, children should remain with their families.
Sally Weale explained the key points in a preview story overnight. And the Department for Education’s press release is here.
The DfE has also published various other documents as part of this announcement. They are:
Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive – a 47-page policy paper explaining the new approach
A report from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner setting out the experience of children subject to deprivation of liberty orders
A paper on the councils taking part in two regional care cooperative pathfinder pilots (Manchester, and the south-east)
A report on progress made towards meeting recommendations made in the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s phase 2 report
During defence questions Tan Dhesi, the Labour chair of the Commons defence committee, said he would like to see the government allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles supplied by Britain to hit targets in Russia. Referring to President Biden’s decision to let Ukraine use American long-range missiles to attack sites in Russia, he said:
Given the continuous bombing of Ukrainian communities by Russia, and given that we’ve got thousands of North Korean troops fighting against our ally, in our continent, will Ukraine now be allowed to use those storm shadow missiles? Obviously within the confines of international law.
Or are we expecting Ukraine to continue fighting and defending itself with one hand tied behind its back and to keep those storm shadows in safe storage?
John Healey, the defence secretary, refused to say what the government would be doing. He replied:
I will not compromise operations, security and comment on details of long-range systems today. The prime minister has been clear, as I do to the house today, that we must double down on the support for Ukraine, give Ukraine the support it needs, and do so for as long as it takes. And in doing so we will continue our close cooperation with the US and allies in providing that support to Ukraine.
Healey also said that he was discussing this with his US and Ukrainian counterparts.
The Foreign Office has announced that Iran’s national airline, Iran Air, is being subject to asset freeze. In a news release, it says “as a state-owned airline, Iran Air, is sanctioned in response to the government of Iran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, following commitments outlined by the E3 in September”. The government is also sanctioning the state-owned national shipping carrier of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).
Here are some more pictures of Keir Starmer at the G20 summit today in Brazil.
Here is video of Keir Starmer meeting Xi Jinping.
Starmer told Chinese president Britain would be 'predictable and pragmatic partner', says No 10, in summary of meeting
Downing Street has released its readout of Keir Starmer’s meeting with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president. Here is an extract with the most important lines.
The prime minister set out that our approach would be consistent, respectful and pragmatic in order to advance these shared goals.
On climate in particular, both said that this should be high on the agenda and there was more work to be done to accelerate global progress towards net zero. Both the UK and China have an important role to play in support of the global clean power transition.
The prime minister said that he also wanted to engage honestly and frankly on those areas where we have different perspectives, including on Hong Kong, human rights and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He reiterated that his approach would always be rooted in the national interests of the UK, but that we would be a predictable and pragmatic partner.
As Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, points out, the statement “does not mention Jimmy Lai by name, referring instead to ‘different perspectives’ on human rights”.
Updated
No 10 defends Reeves' record of being 'straight' with voters after Tories attack her over CV embellishment
Downing Street has defended the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, as someone who’s been “straight with the public” in response to claims she embellished her CV.
Last month the Guido Fawkes website said that Reeves was wrong to claim that she had worked as an economist at Halifax/Bank of Scotland (HBOS) before she became an MP. Reeves’ first job after she left university was as an economist at the Bank of England, but when she worked as HBOS she had an administrative role, Guido Fawkes said.
The story attracted little attention at the time. But in her Mansion House speech last week Reeves referred to having worked “as an economist at the Bank of England, and then in financial services” and after that Guido Fawkes discovered that Reeves had changed her LinkedIn profile. Instead of saying that she worked as an economist at the Bank of Scotland when she was at HBOS, it now says for that period that she was in retail banking at Halifax.
This was more widely followed up, and the Sunday Telegraph then ran a follow-up story saying that in an interview three year ago Reeves referred to spending a “decade” as a Bank of England economist, even though her career at the Bank only lasted six years, including a year studying for a master’s at the LSE. That led Robert Jenrick, the former Tory leadership candidate, to accuse Reeves of lying.
Asked if the PM was concerned that Reeves had exaggerated her CV, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists at the morning lobby briefing:
The prime minister is very clear that the chancellor has restored financial stability.
This is someone who on coming into office looked under the bonnet and exposed a £22bn black hole in the public finances, and has been straight with the public about what is necessary to balance the books and restore financial stability in the face of that.
Asked again about the stories, the spokesperson said:
[Starmer] is very clear that this is a chancellor that has been straight with the public about the state of the public finances and what is necessary to restore financial stability. That is most important.
Referring to Reeves’s decision to change her LinkedIn profile, a Treasury source said: “She worked in retail banking covering various areas drawing on her background as an economist. Her LinkedIn has been updated to reflect that.”
Asked about the comment from Jenrick, a Labour source referred to Jenrick being sacked as housing secretary three years ago and said: “The chancellor won’t take any lectures on honesty from a man whose scandals went too far for even Boris Johnson to stand by him.”
There is no evidence that Reeves has gained any career advantage by people thinking she was working as an economist at HBOS when she was there in a different role. To get a job at the Bank of England as a graduate requires considerable ability, and Reeves has said she turned down a job offer from Goldman Sachs around the same time. Before the general election Mark Carney, a former Bank of England governor, said Reeves was the right person to be next chancellor. Mervyn King, Carney’s predecessor, has also spoken positively about working with Reeves at the Bank when he was in charge.
Updated
As Steven Swinford from the Times reports, President Xi also used one of Keir Starmer’s favourite slogans as he described what the Labour government is doing when he spoke about their meeting.
President Xi channels Keir Starmer after their meeting on the fringes of the G20 summit in Rio, saying that Labour is ‘working to fix the foundations’
It’s the first meeting between a British PM and Xi in five years
‘The new UK government is working to fix the foundations of the economy and rebuild britain and has set the vision of Britain reconnected
‘We should take fostering greater development better serving our peoples and contributing more to the world as our goal’
President Xi stresses need for 'mutual respect' between UK and China in talks with Starmer
Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has said his country and the UK “share the dual responsibility” of “addressing global challenges”, PA Media reports.
According to a translation in the room at the top of his meeting with Keir Starmer on Monday, the president said there is “broad space for cooperation” between the two countries, including on topics such as trade and clean energy, PA says.
Xi said:
The world has entered a new period marked by turbulence and transformation.
As permanent members of the UN security council and major global economies, China and UK share the dual responsibility of advancing our respective national development and addressing global challenges …
China and the UK have broad space for cooperation across various domains, including trade, investment, clean energy, financial services, healthcare and improving our peoples’ wellbeing.
We should take fostering greater development, better serving our peoples and contributing more to the world as our goal.
Live up to our strategic partnership and commit to mutual respect, openness, cooperation, exchanges and mutual learning for shared benefit […] in doing so we will break new ground in the China-UK relationship amid a changing world and better underscore our relationship’s relevance for the times and its significance for the world.
Starmer confirms he will vote in assisted dying bill debate - but won't say yet how, on grounds government should be neutral
Keir Starmer has confirmed that he will vote in the debate on the assisted dying bill on Friday week – but he has not yet said how.
Speaking to reporters en route to the G20 summit in Brazil, the prime minister confirmed for the first time that he will vote on the assisted dying bill later this month, but indicated he would not reveal his position in advance.
Starmer is known to be in favour of assisted dying in principle, having previously voted for it in 2015, but he has not confirmed he will back Kim Leadbeater’s bill, which would legalise assisted death for those who are terminally ill and have less than six months to live.
Starmer told reporters:
The government is neutral, and it’s a free vote, and it’s very important that it remains a free vote, because people feel very strongly about this.
He said the free vote meant it was “not a political divide, it’s a sort of individual divide.”
He also said he had examined the issue closely when he was the director of public prosecutions because the Crown Prosecution Service had had to decide whether to prosecute family members involved in people killing themselves.
I looked at every single assisted suicide case for five years that was investigated. I also did the biggest consultation in criminal justice when we did the consultation on assisted dying. It was the biggest response, because people felt so strongly, and I could feel that, and I’ve always said getting the balance right is crucially important.
No 10 declines to say if US missile decision will lead to Ukraine being able to use Storm Shadow weapons to hit Russia
Downing Street has refused to say whether President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use American missiles to strike Russia will lead to any change in what Kyiv can do with Storm Shadow missiles supplied by Britain.
Speaking at the lobby briefing, asked if Ukraine would be allowed to use Storm Shadow weapons to hit targets in Russia, the PM’s spokesperson said:
We have been consistent throughout that providing specific details on operational matters would only serve to benefit [Vladimir] Putin during an ongoing illegal war.
Asked if it was fair to say the UK would work in lockstep with the US, the spokesperson replied:
It has always been the case we work closely with our allies and engage to ensure that strategically we are providing the support that Ukraine needs, and we do that in consultation both with Ukraine and with each other as allies.
Keir Starmer has not spoken to Biden since Washington decided its new policy, the spokesperson said.
Starmer raises plight of Jimmy Lai and sanctions against British MPs in talks with Chinese president
Keir Starmer has raised concerns with Chinese president Xi Jinping about sanctions on MPs and the deterioration of British citizen and Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai in his meeting with the leader at the G20.
British journalists were bundled out of the meeting by Chinese officials at the moment Starmer raised the plight of Lai, who is being held in Hong Kong.
In the first meeting between the Chinese president and a British prime minister for six years, Starmer also raised human rights issues with Xi, including the sanctions on a number of Conservative MPs including the former security minister Tom Tugendhat and the Commons deputy speaker Nus Ghani.
Starmer said the pair had agreed that they wanted “relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, and as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible”. [See 12.33pm.]
He proposed a full bilateral with Premier Li in Beijing or London, and for his chancellor Rachel Reeves to meet with her counterpart He Lifeng, which is expected to take place in Beijing in January.
Speaking at the start of the meeting, Starmer said:
I’m keen that my chancellor should meet with Vice Premier He for the upcoming economic financial dialogue early next year to explore more investment projects and a more level playing field to help our businesses.
I’m very pleased that my Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Wang met recently to discuss respective concerns including on human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, the South China Sea and our shared interest in Hong Kong. We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lai’s deterioration.
Tugendhat and the former foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns, both prominent Tory critics of China, had called on Starmer to use the meeting to raise with Xi the plight of UK nationals including Lai, the pro-democracy media owner detained and tried in Hong Kong.
No British prime minister has met Xi since Theresa May visited Beijing in 2018 in the midst of a trade push during Brexit negotiations, though Boris Johnson spoke to the Chinese president during the pandemic.
Since then, relations have significantly cooled because of cyber threats, a human rights crackdown in Hong Kong and the sanctions against British MPs.
Rishi Sunak attempted to renew relations at the G20 summit in 2022 where a bilateral was planned but cancelled due to Ukraine developments. But Conservative leaders have toyed with designating China a threat to British security – stronger language than the US had used.
The foreign secretary, David Lammy, visited China last month in the first signal that the new Labour government saw a renewal of better ties as a priority. Reeves, who is understood to be taking a leading role in pursuing new economic opportunities with China, will head to Beijing in January.
Starmer and Reeves, have been pursuing a thawing of relations with the world’s second-largest economy on pragmatic grounds, suggesting that the UK cannot achieve its growth ambitions without better terms with China.
Starmer says he wants relations with China to be 'respectful', and to 'avoid surprises where possible'
Keir Starmer has held his bilateral with Xi Jinping in Rio at the G20, offering to meet his counterpart, the Chinese premier Li Qiang, in Beijing or London at the earliest opportunity.
But the PM also raised human rights issues with Xi, including the sanctions on parliamentarians and the persecution of Hong Kong and British citizen Jimmy Lai.
In the first meeting by a British PM with China’s president since 2018, Starmer said he wants “relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, and, as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible”.
Speaking at the start of the meeting, he said:
A strong UK China relationship is important for both of our countries and for the broader international community.
The UK will be a predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law.
He proposed a full bilateral with premier Li in Beijing or London, as well as a meeting between Rachel Reeves and her Chinese counterpart.
As premier, Li is the second most senior figure in the Chinese system. Xi is Starmer’s equivalent as the political leader of his country, but unlike Starmer he is also a head of state.
Updated
Starmer says UK wants 'strong' relationship with China as he meets Xi Jinping
Keir Starmer said that a “strong UK China relationship is important for both of our countries” as he met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the fringes of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, PA Media reports.
If you are looking for something a bit lighter to break things up this morning, Simon Hattenstone’s interview with the former Tory MP, and newbie reality TV star, Jacob Rees-Mogg is a good read.
Assisted dying bill 'doomed' if government does not allocate more time for debate after second reading, experts claim
In her Today interview Harriet Harman, the former Labour deputy leader, claimed that Keir Starmer and Lucy Powell, the leader of the Commons, have both said that the assisted dying bill will get “as much time as it needs” for detailed, line-by-line debate, if it passes the second reading vote on Friday week. She said:
I do not think the government is showing any signs of wanting to restrict the debate. It then goes to the Lords … The only time constraint is this needs to be finished by November next year.
But on the same programme Nikki da Costa, a former Tory adviser who was director of legislative affairs in Downing Street under Theresa May and Boris Johnson, said she thought Harman was wrong. She pointed out that the bill is much longer than private members’ bills (PMBs) normally are, but that the time allocated for it is just the standard PMB slot. She said only five hours have been set aside for report stage. If MPs cannot get through all the amendments in that time, the bill will go “to the back of the queue”, she said. Some MPs have asked the government to allocate extra time. But da Costa pointed that that Starmer, at PMQs last week, and Powell, at business questions on Thursday, have both refused to accept that is needed.
Da Costa’s assessment is in line with the assessment of the Hansard Society, the thinktank focusing on parliamentary matters. In its latest Parliamentary Matters podcast, Ruth Fox, the Hansard Society director, and Mark D’Arcy, the former BBC journalist, discuss at length why, even if it gets a second reading, the bill will struggle to get through parliament without the government giving it extra time. “If the government isn’t going to move to provide more time for this bill, frankly it’s doomed,” D’Arcy says. Fox agrees.
There is a transcript of the podcast here.
Tom Watson defends Streeting's right to speak out on assisted dying bill after Harriet Harman says he 'crossed the line'
Harriet Harman, the former Labour party deputy leader, used an interview on the Today programme this morning to criticise Wes Streeting, the health secretary, for his stance on the assisted dying bill. Echoing comments she made in an interview with the Observer, she said:
I do think that [Streeting has] crossed the line and has given the impression that the government is not neutral …
If government ministers, especially the secretary of state, for health, if they speak out, then the government’s position of neutrality is compromised. Individual MPs will be feeling as if they have to support the government or be against the government, and this principle of neutrality on moral issues is very important.
Tom Watson, another former deputy Labour leader who, like Harman, is now in the House of Lords, criticised her comments. In posts on social media this morning, he said that he has changed his mind on assisted dying, and is now in favour. But he also defended Streeting’s right to speak out on this matter.
1/ After opposing assisted dying in the Commons a decade ago, I was convinced to change my view by a constituent while serving as an MP. Their story stayed with me and shaped my perspective. #AssistedDyingBill
2/ Today, I deeply admire the work of Kim Leadbeater and will support her bill. The proposed safeguards are thoughtful, thorough, and, if anything, more restrictive than I had anticipated. #TerminallyIllAdultsBill
3/ I am surprised to see my House of Lords colleague, Harriet Harman, making media appearances in recent days criticising Health Secretary Wes Streeting. He is doing his job and is entitled to his position.
4/ MPs should absolutely be made aware of the practicalities of new legislation. That is the essence of good governance and responsible debate. #AssistedDying
5/ I sincerely hope campaigners for the Bill focus on dialogue, not confrontation. Shouting down proper debate risks deterring those, like me, who have considered and changed their stance. #OpenDebate
Amnesty International UK has urged Keir Starmer to raise the case of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist and British national imprisoned in Hong Kong, when he meets the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
Amnesty’s chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said:
The appalling state of human rights across China must be top of the agenda, including raising alarm about the industrial-scale repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet, the crushing of press freedom and hounding of activists and critics in Hong Kong and China.
Prime Minister Starmer must also be clear that China’s campaign of terrorising students and campaigners here in the UK will not be tolerated.
Nigel Farage is leader with most voters who like him, but Green's Carla Denyer has highest net approval rating, poll suggests
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has more voters who like him than any other leading politician – but also more who dislike him than most other leading figures, according to polling from Ipsos.
The figures show that 28% of people have a favourable view of him – but 48% have an unfavourable view of him, giving him a net score of -20.
Keir Starmer’s net score is -29, and Rachel Reeves’ is -32. Kemi Badenoch has a net score of -18, but this could be partly because fewer people have a firm view about her one way or the other.
The same factor applies to the Green party co-leaders, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, and the Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, who all have much higher net approval ratings than the other people included in the Ipsos survey. On this measure, Denyer is the most popular leader (with a net score of -9), followed by Ramsay and Davey (both on -10).
Last week similar polling by YouGov presented a very similar picture.
Commenting on the figures, Keiran Pedley, director of UK politics at Ipsos, said:
These numbers show that politicians are not a popular bunch in Britain right now, with more Britons holding unfavourable opinions than favourable for all of the ones on our list. Nigel Farage has the highest proportion favourable overall, but it remains to be seen whether he can convert that into increased support for Reform UK moving forward.
Updated
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson says she is opposed to assisted dying bill
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has said is opposed to the private member’s bill that would allow assisted dying.
Asked for her stance on the bill, which will be debated in the Commons on Friday week, Phillipson said:
As you’ll know, the government takes a neutral position on this, so it’s for individual members of parliament to arrive at their own conclusion, to come to their own view.
Back in 2015 when this was last before parliament, I voted against the measure, and in that time, I haven’t changed my mind.
Asked why she was opposed to the bill, Phillipson said that she did not want to give too much detail, because the government as a whole is neutral on the bill, and so ministers are not meant to be trying to sway the argument. She said she was worried about people being coerced into taking their own life. But she acknowledged that supporters of the bill believe it contains safeguards that would address this problem.
Peter Walker has the full story here.
Updated
In her interview with Sky News this morning Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, was asked if the UK would follow Joe Biden in giving Ukraine permission to use missiles to attack targets in Russia. She replied:
The prime minister and the defence secretary will always keep under review what the Ukrainian government asked of us by way of support.
We have provided considerable military assistance to the Ukrainian people in their fight against that terrible Russian aggression that we have seen, and as we come up to that 1,000 days of the conflict, it’s more stark than ever what the Ukrainian people have had to go through.
It is thought that Starmer has been in favour of allowing Ukraine to fire Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Russia for some time, although the PM has not said that publicly. The missiles are made jointly made by the British and the French, but to attack targets in Russia they would need access to a US missile guidance system.
As Dan Sabbagh explains, the Biden decision reportedly applies to US-made Atacms rockets.
Keir Starmer will go into meeting with Chinese president with ‘eyes wide open’, says minister
Good morning. Keir Starmer is in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil for the G20 summit, where later today he will become the first UK prime minister in six years to meet the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. As Jessica Elgot reports, Starmer says he wants “a pragmatic and serious relationship” with China.
But, inevitably, not everyone is happy. The Daily Mail is splashing on criticism of the meeting from some Tories. When David Cameron was PM, he cultivated Xi with an eagerness and enthusiasm that makes Starmer look quite hostile towards China by comparison, but over the past decade Tory thinking about China has changed considerably, and the Mail story quotes Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former leader, saying “those suffering genocide and slave labour under the brutal hands of Xi will feel betrayed.”
Daily Mail: Anger as Starmer cosies up to China #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/4pB8g5wP30
— George Mann (@sgfmann) November 18, 2024
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has been doing an interview round this morning. Speaking on Sky News, she defended Starmer’s decision to meet Xi. She said he would be going into the meeting with his “eyes wide open”. She explained:
China is a major player both in terms of the economy but also in the [UN] security council so it is right that we have that engagement, but that we do so on a pragmatic basis where we go into it with our eyes wide open.
That does mean there will be challenge, constructive challenge, and there will be areas of profound disagreement.
Here is the agenda for the day.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
1.30pm: Philip Barton, permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, gives evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee.
Afternoon: Starmer is in Rio de Janeiro, where most of the G20 events will take place in the afternoon or evening UK time.
2.30pm: John Healey, the defence secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
3.15pm: David Lammy, the foreign secretary, chairs a meeting of the UN security council on Sudan.
After 3.30pm: Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is expected to give a statement to MPs about plans to crack down on profiteering by firms running care home for children.
4pm: Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, gives evidence to the Lords international agreements committee.
Also, at some point today, Steve Reed, the environment secretary, is meeting Tom Bradshaw, the NFU president. Tomorrow farmers are holding a major protest in London about the government’s plans to subject some farms to inheritance tax.
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